ABSTRACT
Contemporary transformations in work and employment in the Israeli economy and their impact on the earning structure are explored in this chapter. The first part sets the stage of inquiry by explaining what we refer to by the term the “Israeli labor market.” The second part focuses primarily on the earning structure in the Israeli labor market, explaining how and why workers differ in their earnings and working conditions. Two main types of explanations are rationalized: explanations that focus on workers’ skills and productivity, and explanations that stress the structured allocation of individuals to jobs of differential desirability. The third part of the chapter centers on exploring the trend toward polarization of the Israeli labor market, questioning the roles of rising returns to skill, declining labor market protections and organizational economic restructuring in rising earnings inequality.
